martin phillips

downtown dunedin on a friday night
even though the school year is over the place is still buzzing
during the big middle part of the year the city is overrun with students
for otago university is well regarded internationally and drags 'em in from all over
which of course means a healthy sub-culture exists to provide for the transient population
per capita the city is well set up with many cafes, bars, bookshops, clothing shops, etc
for 3 days of this week i was staying in dunedin i started the day in the same manner
off to the legendary (in my mind) moana pool for some lap-swimming
then a walk down (literally) town to a cafe called modaks
a cup of coffee and a muffin and plenty of time to survey the fliers and posters on the main wall
it is here that it becomes obvious how healthy the music scene is in this relatively small city
i was due for a night out and unusually i found i had a choice to make of what to see
then i saw the name of martin phillips buried in a list of other performers due to play at a bar called 12 below
further reading of the flier advised that he was on as part of a performance for a conference on independent music
so decision made and that friday night found me in said bar to witness 'music on the edge'
the bar was found by walking down a cobblestone alley that lead onto a large courtyard
through a low doorway and down another couple of right-angled walkways
a small but well-appointed bar with low lighting, comfortable seating and a decent sized stage
serious deja vu going on now with recollections of this kind of activity many years ago
but still comfortable with this and especially so after conversations with various other visitors and organisers
as for the music - raw, energetic, passionate, earnest, pure, formative
i saw a few acts but one that i was very taken by was a chap named sunley
a smallish, bespactacled, suit-wearing, messy-haired fellow thrashing his guitar
and giving his microphone all his attention and daring the band and audience to keep up
will be keeping an eye and ear out for sunley - which i think is also (or only?) the band's name
the main man martin phillips was on quite late in the running order
which is why presumably the audience was thin in numbers and attention span
he played solo with a guitar and effects box to a fairly uninterested audience except for a few of us
his claim to fame is an outfit called the chills
in my humble opinion one of the best bands ever to come out of nz
in truth it's all about him as each incarnation of the band he drafts new members
he gets away with it as his songs and voice are so unique and now well entrenched in nz culture
not to mention a not insignificant degree of recognition internationally
pink frost is one of those songs that will live forever that refuses to age
with a song title like that it would be fair to assume the name of the band is temperature related
but no no no - i will never forget an interview i read with m phillips from way back
where he articulated that the name the chills actually comes from an emotion
that feeling you get he said when you hear, see or otherwise sense something really special
and a little shudder reverberates with that emotion - the chills
now i'm a bit addicted to that feeling and get it often enough usually related to the enjoyment of music
every time it happens i think of this man and his music
so for me his performance on this occasion was a bit of a nod to his legacy
as for the performance - there's one simple way for me to describe it
the ed kuepper of nz - complete with vast repertoire, guitar/effects, and attitude
that is a lazy way of reviewing a musician's performance
but all respect due